Woven fabric



1959 H. w. SCHWAB 2, 9,

WOVEN FABRIC Filed Dec. 19, 1955 INVENTOR. aroZd 2U, SIC/220685 BY MWWTM AT TORNEYS United WOVEN FABRIC Application December 19, 1955, Serial No. 553,986 3 Claims. (Cl. 139-383) This invention relates to textiles, to woven fabrics and the like.

The invention is shown as applied to the weaving of fabrics which are formed wholly or in part of woolen, worsted or synthetic fibers, or other fibers or threads which may be found suitable for use in fabrics and adaptable to a Weaving process. Fabric of the type illustrated and described herein is suitable for use in mens, womens and childrens clothing and uniforms, and in other woven articles where considerable air permeability is of importance.

It will be understood that the above-mentioned fibers and fabrics, and their uses are mentioned for illustrative purposes, and are not under any circumstances to be considered or construed in a restrictive sense.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved woven fabric which has exceptional properties of increased, or great air permeability.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved woven fabric as above characterized, which has a very simple weave or pattern and which may be readily and economically produced.

In carrying out the invention I provide a woven fabric having interwoven warp and weft threads, said fabric being characterized by certain of the threads, occurring in a predetermined order, passing regularly over and under adjacent pairs of threads which cross the said certain threads. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein each fourth weft thread is made to pass regularly under and over juxtaposed pairs of warp threads, and each fourth Warp thread is made to pass under and over juxtaposed pairs of weft threads. By this organization, I produce a woven pattern which is characterized by regularly recurring tightly woven groups comprising four warp threads and four weft threads, the said groups however being separated from each other to an extent greater than the separation between individual threads within the groups, and thus I provide a grid-like pattern of enlarged air spaces, extending in columns and rows closely spaced apart each by four threads, thereby to eifect a greatly increased air permeability of the fabric.

Moreover, the said pattern is produced by a simple change of the weave, without requiring additional threads, special size threads or other devices by which the weaving process may be made more complicated.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of a fabric as above characterized, wherein the rows and columns of air spaces are very closely set or disposed with respect to each other, thereby providing lightness to the weave and a very large number of enlarged air spaces per unit area.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts wherever possible in the several views, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a small section of fabric made in accordance with the invention and and more particularly atent O shown greatly enlarged, illustrating the novel weave which is employed.

Figs. 2 through 9 are further enlarged sectional views taken respectively through the correspondingly numbered lines indicated in Fig. l.

As shown, the novel woven fabric and weave thereof as provided by the present invention comprises a plurality of warp threads indicated generally by the numeral 10 and a plurality of filling or weft threads, indicated generally by the numeral 11, crossing and interwoven with the warp threads 10. In Fig. 1 a total of eight warp threads 10 and eight weft threads 11 are shown, said threads being so interwoven as to provide four distinct tightly-woven areas which are continuously repeated many times over in the entire fabric and which are relatively widely separated from each other a distance substantially greater than the separation of individual threads making up the said sections.

Thus, in the pattern of Fig. 1 it will be seen that there are three vertical columns of relatively large spaces, indicated generally by the numerals 12, 13 and 14, and three horizontal rows of relatively large spaces, indicated generally by the numerals 15, 16 and 17, the said rows and columns of spaces forming a grid-like pattern having a regular and uniform configuration wherein the columns and rows are spaced apart by minute distances. Such minute distances, forexample, are on the order of a small multiple of the thread diameters, in the case of the weave shown in the figures being slightly greater than four thread diameters.

By virtue of the weave provided by this invention the fabric will have a great number of rows and columns of relatively large air spaces, thereby providing a characteristic of very great or high, air permeability.

The weave shown in the drawing may be characterized as follows. Considering the upper left portion of Fig. 1, there is provided a first pair of (warp) threads 20, 21 crossing a second pair of (weft) threads 22, 23 in a manner to form therewith a basket weave or ordinary warp and weft weave. There is further provided a third pair of threads 24, 25 (which are warp threads) interposed between and extending along said first pair of threads, 26, 21. Also, I provide a fourth pair of threads 26, 27, being weft threads, which are interposed between and extend along the second pair of threads 22, 23. The third and fourth pair of threads 24--27 cross and form with each other a basket weave or an ordinary warp and weft weave. Also, the third pair of threads 24, 25 crosses the second pair 22, 23 in such a manner that the third, second and fourth pairs (threads 24, 25, threads 22, 23 and threads 26, 27) taken by themselves also form an ordinary warp and weft weave. I also provide that adjoining threads of the second and fourth pairs (for example, the threads 22, 26, or the threads 23, 27) pass on the same side of a thread of the first pair (for example, either the thread Zll or the thread 21).

It will be observed that the threads 24 and 25, forming an inner pair, cross the group of four threads 22, 26, 27 and 23 and form therewith an ordinary warp and weft weave, and that for such circumstance the outer pair of threads 20, 21 will be seen as extending along opposite sides of the said inner pair and also crossing thesaid group of four, with said outer threads passing under and over, in opposed relation to each other, paired and juxtaposed threads of the group of four (weft) threads.

I have found that by virtue of the threads 20 and 21 passing under and over groups of the threads which they cross, and also by virtue of the threads 22 and 23 passing over and under groups of the threads which they cross, especially when such procedure is carried out in a regular repetitious manner, there is effected the aforementioned 3 tightly woven sections of fabric, separated by the columns and rows of relatively large air spaces designated by the numerals 12-17.

It will be appreciated that a fabric is usually made up of threads or fibers of relatively small diameters, and accordingly the fabricof this invention may be characterized by a great multiplicity of such columns and rows, disposed in closely spaced relation to each other whereby the fabric has a very appreciable, high air permeability.

, While I have illustrated and described herein a specific embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes and is not to be considered in a restrictive sense except as the invention may be defined in the appended claims.

The fabric and weave as provided by the present invention is extremely simple and economical to fabricate. it does not require special sized threads or fibers, or special weaving techniques which might be complicated or difficult to carry out. The fabric as above set forth has been found especially to be advantageous when used for making mens, womens, and childrens clothing, uniforms and various articles of apparel. It has utility, however, in connection with other applications, wherever a fabric of great air permeability may be found desirable.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may he used without others.

1 claim:

l. A woven fabric having regularly recurring tightly woven groups spaced apart along the warp, as well as along the weft, each group comprising at least two warp aseaess threads and two weft threads interwoven in a 1 x 1 simple basket or mat weave and also comprising an adjoining warp edge thread on each of two sides of each group and an adjoining weft edge thread on each of the other two sides, each of the adjoining threads interwoven with transverse threads in a two up, two down weave.

2. T he fabric of claim 1, in which the groups are spaced apart several thread diameters measured from each adjoining thread of one group to the adjoining thread of the adjacent group.

3. The fabric of claim 1, in which an edge thread of any one group, and the nearest parallel edge thread of the nearest adjacent group are interwoven through the common transverse threads on opposite sides, that is, one thread is up as the other one is down.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS (2nd Ser., vol. 80, p. 20, plate 6) OTHER REFERENCES Technology of Textile Design, by Posselt, published in 1896, by E. A. Posselt, 2152 N. Twenty-first St., Philadelphia, Pa, pages 41 to 49. 

